Egypt’s Orascom Telecom said on Thursday it had won the right to provide wireless services to North Korea, which, as well as being one of the world’s most isolated countries, strictly controls information access for the general public.

The company, which operates throughout the Middle East and North Africa, said that its subsidiary CHEO Technology, a joint venture 75 per cent owned by Orascom and 25 per cent owned by North Korea’s state-run Korea Post and Telecommunications, won the right to provide mobile phone services using 3G technology.